Perfect Moments
by Megs246
Summary: It is Ziva's first snow and Tony is going to make sure it is special.  Everything is perfect until Eli David ruins everything.  Tiva story.  Warning will contain spanking-don't like don't read.
1. Chapter 1

_Ok this may start off a little slow, but hang in there. I know where it is going I just have to get it there. This is mostly Tiva so if it is not your thing you may not enjoy. May contain spanking (We'll see if Abby can keep her attitude in check)-if you are offended by spanking then don't read._

Everyone seemed to recover from the events of the fall. McGee got his cast off right before Thanksgiving. Abby was germ free and back to herself. And Tony and Ziva were still going strong.

Christmas came and went and unfortunately it was not a white Christmas. There had not been a single snowflake the entire month of December. Ziva had been looking forward to experiencing her first snow.

It was about 9pm on a Tuesday night. Gibbs and Jenny were curled up on the couch watching tv. Abby was finishing up her homework while texting Timmy. Tony was doing research on a paper for school.

Tony happened to look up from his computer to notice that it was snowing. The snow was coming down fast and furious. There was already an inch on the ground and more was still falling.

Tony quickly threw on his coat, and headed down the stairs.

Gibbs and Jenny looked up from the TV when they heard Tony come down the stairs.

Jenny called out to her son "Tony, why do you have your coat on? It is 9pm on a school night, you are not going out now."

Tony appeared in the doorway of the family. "Come on this is the first snow. I have to go to Ziva's and take her outside for her first snow. She has never seen snow before."

Gibbs couldn't help but hold in a smile. He really liked Ziva and knew how much his son cared for her. Ziva had been a positive influence on Tony. She helped keep him out of trouble. "Come on Jen, let him go for just a little while. After all she has lived all of her life in a desert. Not much snow there."

Tony and Gibbs both turned to Jen and gave her their best puppy dog faces.

Jen gave Gibbs a playful swat on his arm. "You are worse then the kids Jethro. Fine I am outnumbered. First call Ziva, her parents may not even let her go out of the house at this time of night. If it is okay with her parents, you may go for a while but I want you home by 10, no later. Clear?"

Tony leaned down and gave him mom a kiss. "Thanks mom"

Tony texted Ziva : Zi snowing, come 4 a walk with me?

Ziva: Tony, papa will be gone until late. Mama will say okay. Come over

Tony left the house and went off to Ziva's house.

In the meantime Abby looked out the window and saw the first signs of snow. She began bouncing down the stairs.

As Abby entered the family room she launched herself at her parents and landed with a thud between them.

"It's snowing! Can you believe it? Please can I go outside to play in the snow?"

Gibbs knew how much Abby loved the first snowfall but it was late and dark and chances were the snow would still be there tomorrow morning.

Gibbs playfully pulled on one of her pigtails. "Sorry kiddo. It is late and dark. The snow will be there tomorrow. Plus your bedtime is in 10 minutes."

Abby began to melt down. "Come on that is not fair. How come you let Tony go out?"

Jen realized Abby was going to go into full tantrum mode which in turn would cause her husband to go into angry father mode and it would just end badly. Jen put her arm around Abby and pulled her close "Abbs, the snow will be there tomorrow and even if it melts it will snow again."

Abby was not appeased. "Why did Tony get to go out!"

Gibbs was starting to lose patience. "First of all Tony's whereabouts has nothing to do with you. We said No and it means No."

Abby stood up with black pigtails flying and began stomping as loudly as she could out of the room.

Actually it was kind of a funny sight to see. Abby clad in her pink jammies with black skulls trying to stomp her petit 5ft body out of the room, in bare feet, black pigtails swaying back and forth.

She stomped all the way up to her room and slammed the door. Slamming doors in the Gibbs house was usually not tolerated. Abby half expected to hear her father come up the stairs to reprimand her for her attitude, but he never came.

Instead Jen began kissing her husband to try to distract him from killing Abby. When she heard the door slam Jen looked up at the ceiling. "Well that went well…"

When Gibbs began grumbling about Abby and her attitude Jen started kissing him and he forgot about little Miss Abbytude.

Meanwhile Tony arrived at Ziva's house.

Ziva came outside wrapped in several layers.

Ziva was so excited about seeing her first snow that she was acting like Abby. She was bouncing up and down.

"Tony look at this. This is amazing. When I was growing up in Israel I used to see pictures of snow, but I never imagined I would get to experience it."

Tony could help but relish in Ziva's excitement. Tony had 16 years of snow in his experience so for him it was not as exciting. But to see how excited Ziva was, made it worth it.

"Ok Ziva, first you have to try to catch a snowflake on your tongue." Tony opened his mouth and showed her how to do it. Soon Ziva and Tony were walking around with their mouths hanging opening trying to catch snowflakes.

Once Tony was sure Ziva had caught a snowflake. He bent down and showed her how to make a snowball and Ziva experienced her first snowball fight.

Next they moved onto making snow angles. Tony laid down in the snow and waved his arms and legs back and forth and then got up revealing a snow angle. Ziva was next to try it.

"Tony it is getting cold and I am getting wet. I think I had better go in the house."

Tony looked at Ziva's beautiful face in the glow of the moon with her hair all wet and glistening from the snowflakes that had landed on her. "There is one more snow tradition you have to experience." Tony grabbed Ziva and pulled her close. He leaned in and began kissing her.

To Tony time was standing still. At that moment everything was perfect.

Little did Tony and Ziva know that their perfect world was about to shatter.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok not my usual style. Warning-Tiva centered, contains spanking-don't like don't read, also AU family-don't like, don't read.**

**Also I am not critizing the Catholic faith, I am catholic. Aunt Peg is based on a real person.**

Someone once said that the ups and downs are what makes life exciting. One minute everything was perfect. Tony and Ziva were enjoying her first snowfall and everything was right with the world.

24 hours later and to Tony his whole world had been shattered.

It all started that night of the first snow, around 3am. Eli David came home and woke up his wife and children. He called a family meeting to inform them that they would be heading back to Israel in the morning. There was an important Mossad mission and the work he had been sent to America for had been carried out.

Her mother always playing the part of the dutiful wife never objected or even questioned Eli. She began packing the important stuff her family would need for the trip back to Isreal.

Ziva on the other hand was tired of always following orders without complaint or any input. She was upset when Eli had uprooted his family and dragged them to the states. But Ziva had held her temper and came. In time she began to enjoy the new life she had created here in the US. She had friends and Tony. As much as she missed her friends and family in Isreal, she loved being in America.

"Papa please I like it here. I just experienced my first snow and I have friends and school.."

Eli cut her off. "This is not up for discussion. I am the director of Mossad. We have a mission to carry out in Isreal. Our mission here has been completed. It is time that we return home. Besides since we have been here your Mossad training has been neglected. It is time you stop focusing on friends and school and start focusing in on your role in Mossad."

Ziva was furious. At that moment she could feel her anger toward her father and maybe even a little hatred. She had made a life for herself here that she liked. She was sick of Eli David always giving orders without regard to anyone's feelings. She was not going to quietly just back down this time.

"I have friends here and school…" Ziva began

She was cut off by a cold look from her father. "Ziva this is an order. We are needed back in Isreal. This is not a choice. I expect you to obey orders without question. Go pack anything you are going to need for the flight home. The rest of our things will be packed and shipped later."

Ziva could be just as stubborn as her father and she was not going to give up this time. She was determined to stand up to her father for once instead of blindly following orders.

"You are a selfish man who does not care about anyone but yourself. I think you love Mossad more then us or mama. I will not go back to Isreal. I have friends here that I care about and a life I enjoy."

Eli David was stunned. No one, especially his children had ever dared to question, let alone disobey an order before.

Before Ziva could back away, her fathers hand landed with a sharp slap across her face. Eli grabbed her roughly by the arm. "You do not have a choice. We are leaving tomorrow. I suggest you go pack what you will need. And if you ever dare to talk to me like that again I will take my belt to your bare backside until you won't sit for a month."

Eli let go of her arm and roughly pushed her toward the stairs.

Ziva couldn't hold back the tears when she got to her room. She wasn't crying because her father had slapped her, he had done it before. And she wasn't crying from the threat of his belt, hell he had used it on her plenty when she didn't live up to his Mossad expectations. She was crying for Tony and her life here that she was about to lose.

Here is the US she was Ziva David a regular teenager attending high school. In Isreal she was Ziva David, daughter of Mossad director, expected to be a tough kick ass ninja assassin. Mossad was her life in Isreal and she was tired of it. She was a teenager. She wanted to go to movies and hang out at the mall like normal teens. She didn't want to go on missions and kill if the need arose.

At the Gibbs house the morning was in full chaos already. Abby had been up since 7 am and begging her parents to let her go sledding and play in the snow since school had been closed.

After an hour of Abby bouncing around the house driving them nuts Jenny had finally had it. "Go put on your snow pants and snow gear. You can play out in the yard and maybe Tony will take you sledding later."

Abby bounced up and down with her pigtails bopping up and down. She leaned down and hugged her mom. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Tony had walked into the kitchen as Jenny had been suggesting that he would take Abby sledding later. He decided to call Ziva and see if she would like to experience her first sled ride.

Tony couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that something was off. He picked up the phone and called Ziva.

Tony was taken aback when Ziva answered the phone. It sounded as though she had been crying.

"Zee. Are you okay?"

"Oh Tony…." was all she managed to get out before breaking into sobs.

Tony was getting increasingly more alarmed. Ziva was never one to cry. "What is wrong"

Ziva could hear the panicked tone in Tony's voice. She somehow found the strength to tell him what had happened and that she would be leaving in 2 hours for the airport.

Tony listened to Ziva. He felt lightheaded. This could not be happening. No he was not going to lose Ziva. How was it possible? Just 24 hours ago everything was perfect.

When Tony felt like he could speak he yelled "I'm coming over" and hung up the phone.

He ran down the stairs and was so deep in thought that he quite literally ran into his dad who was on his way up the stairs to change.

"Whoa Tony, where's the fire?"

"Dad, Zee, Isreal, No" was about as coherent as Tony could be at that moment.

Gibbs was confused. "Whoa slow down". When Gibbs saw the worry and fear in Tony's eyes he began to get concerned. He grabbed Tony by the shoulders. "Anthony start from the beginning".

Tony took a deep breath and as quickly as he could told his dad that Ziva was leaving.

Gibbs heart broke for Tony. He knew how much he cared for Ziva. Heck they all liked Ziva. But she had to go with her father. It wasn't a choice or something that Tony could stop.

"Tony I want you to listen to me. I know you are upset, but there is nothing you can do. The only thing left for you to do is go say goodbye to Ziva. Remember she is upset too so don't make this any harder on the two of you then it already is."

Tony and Ziva spent their last hour together just holding on to each other. Ziva cried while Tony held in the tears that were threatening to spill over his eyes. When it was time for the David's to leave for the airport Ziva couldn't let go of Tony. Finally Eli had enough as he literally picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He landed a few slaps to her leg when she began kicking. As Eli pushed her into the backseat of the car he growled out a warning. "You had better wipe those tears. Mossad do not cry".

Life at the Gibbs house was somber. Tony spent the day in his room staring into space thinking about Ziva. Even Abby lost her usually bubbliness. She no longer wanted to go sledding. She wanted Ziva to come back. She liked her, and she hated to see her brother so sad.

When Gibbs opened the door to Tony's room that night he saw Tony asleep on his back with a little ball of Abby curled up next to him snuggled under his arm. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of when he last saw the two on them curled up in the same position.

_Flashback_

_The Gibbs family were on their way to Maine for a vacation. Abby was 6 and Tony was 10. On the way up to Maine the family was stopping off in CT to visit Jen's Aunt Peg._

_Now Aunt Peg was a miserable woman. She critized everyone although she claimed to be a devout catholic. Gibbs always figured she spent so much time praying as a penance for her meanness. Her house was a museum. There was an entire room no one was allowed in. It was called the living room, but no living went on in there. The furniture was wrapped in plastic and god forbid anyone try to step foot in there._

_The only reason they were stopping was because her husband had died a few months back, probably just to get away from her, and she had a few things she needed done around the house. Since Gibbs was handy with a tool box she begged Jen to stop on their way._

_The kids had been warned to be on their best behavior. Jen had made Tony wear dress shorts and a polo shirt. Abby was made to wear a dress with tights and little black Mary Jane shoes. They were already in a bad mood before they arrived thanks to the clothes they were forced to wear. It didn't take long before Aunt Peg's meanness wore on Abby's nerve. No matter what Abby did she heard, "Don't touch that, don't do that". Finally Abby had enough. She would show Aunt Peg. When no one was looking Abby took her Mary Jane covered foot and made a big black scuff mark on the white tile floor in the foyer. It went from one end of the foyer to the other._

_Of course when the truth came out about how the mark got there. Abby found herself over her dad's knee. Gibbs had pulled up her dress, pulled down her tights, and spanked her underwear covered bottom until she was crying._

_After he had replaced her tights and cuddled her until she stopped crying he put her on the bed in the guest room to rest._

_Tony heard his sister getting spanked and blamed Aunt Peg for it. Not to be outdone he found the mean old lady and sunk his teeth into her arm. "That is for getting my sister in trouble."_

_Or course once Gibbs heard the commotion he found himself spanking another child for the second time that day. When he was done he sent Tony to the guest room with Abby._

_Later that day Gibbs went to check on his two little mischief makers. When he opened the door to the guest room he saw Tony laying on his back with Abby curled up in a ball under his arm. He was proud of the bond his kids shared._

End of flack back

The bond that Tony and Abby shared still made Gibb proud, but he had a feeling that this time it wasn't going to be enough to help Tony through his grief of losing Ziva.

_TBC _


	3. Chapter 3

_Ok before people get huffy I am not making fun of stay at home mom, ok well maybe a little, but that is because I think of one at my son's school who was a room mother with me last year. but I respect them. I don't know if i could ever do it and I know not every stay at home mom is a crazy as she was. So I say what ever makes you happy. working mom, stay at home mom. It's all good!_

The next morning Tony woke up to something warm and fuzzy curled up next to him. It took him a moment to fully become awake and when he looked he saw a little ball of Abby. He smiled at the sight of his baby sister curled up in a ball with her pigtails all crazy and crooked looking.

There was a knock on Tony's bedroom door. It was Jenny who had come to wake them up for school.

Jenny's heart broke for her oldest born. She knew how much Ziva meant to him, and she knew the pain and heartbreak he was facing yet it was out of her hands. There was nothing she could do to make it better for him. She thought about how much easier it was when Tony was younger. When he was hurt a band aid and boo boo spray made it all better.

She walked into Tony's room and saw Abby all curled up. She couldn't help but smile. "How much sleep did you manage to get with the little fur ball snuggled up next to you?" Jen noticed how tired and glum tony looked. The usual mischief and happiness gone.

"I got some sleep. I didn't mind Abby here. I know she misses Ziva too. Al least she still has McGeek"

Jen cleared her throat and threw a stern glance at her son. That had reprimanded tony countless times for all the Mcnicknames.

"Sorry, McGee" Tony corrected.

Jen sat down on the bed and started to wake up Abby.

"Come on time to get up. You and tony need to get ready for school."

Abby tried to pull the covers over her head while mumbling "5 more minutes".

Jen pulled the covers off Abby. "No, NOW or you are going to be late."

Abby again pulled the covers back up over her head. "Who cares"

Jen was starting to lose patience. They were already running late. Jethro had gotten called out at 4am due to a dead marine and Jen was supposed to be in MTAC in an hour. She would be lucky to make it on time if she left right now provided morning traffic was not an issue.

Jen reached down and pulled the blankets off Abby again and this time she delivered a mighty swat to Abby's backside to add an extra incentive to get up.

"Ow! Jeeze I'm up, I'm up" mumbled Abby as she got up and backed away from her mother making sure she was out of the line of fire.

After Abby was on the bus Jenny went in to say goodbye to her son before leaving for work. She gave him a quick hug. "I know you miss her, but it will get better, I promise. Dad is working a case and I am in MTAC all day. Have a good day at school."

Tony didn't feel like getting out of bed, let alone facing school without Ziva there. He decided he was going to just go back to bed. Hell his parents would be working all day and even if he was caught what was the worst that they would do? Ground him? Who cared, now that Ziva was gone he had no desire to go out anyway. Spank him? The pain of a spanking was nothing compared to the pain in his heart at the moment. So Tony flopped back down in his bed and closed his eyes and prayed that sleep was come soon. The quicker sleep came, the sooner the pain would stop for a while at least.

Abby was glad to see McGee when she got on the bus. She missed Ziva like crazy but having her best friend to talk to was comforting. She couldn't imagine life without McGee.

While Tony was trying to cope with Ziva leaving, Ziva was in Israel trying to stay strong and alive. The minute they had gotten back Eli had dragged Ziva and Ari off to the dessert to begin training. He was preparing them for a mission that he was sending them on. It was a life or death mission. If they succeeded then they would live, but if they failed during this mission it would most likely get them killed. Eli was sending them on a mission in North Africa to infiltrate a camp and kill the leader Saleem.

Gibbs had just gotten back to the Navy yard when his cell rang. Looking at the caller ID he realized it was the high school calling. Oh god what could have happened now?

"Gibbs"

"Hi Mr. Gibbs, this is the school nurse at the high school. I am calling about your son Anthony…."

Gibbs was starting to get impatient (not that he usually had a lot of patience anyway). "Is Tony sick?"

The nurse continued "Well that is why I am calling. He did not come to school today and I did not receive a call telling me he was sick. In the future when he is sick either you or your wife need to call and tell me."

Gibbs was feeling anger and panic at that moment. "You're telling me my son is not in school. Where the hell is he and why are you calling me now at 12:30 instead of this morning?"

Feeling a little defensive the nurse answered back "It is NOT my job to make sure your child is in school."

If he could have jumped through the phone and strangled the nurse he probably would have done it. Instead he hung up and ran up the stairs to MTAC.

Jenny was in the middle of an undercover up on a cargo ship via satellite.

She quickly turned when she heard the commotion at the door.

"Jethro…"

"Jen do you know where tony is?"

"Huh, what do you mean do I know where he is, at school?"

"The school just called, he never showed up."

Jen began to panic. "Oh my god, you don't think he would do something stupid like try to go to Israel, do you?"

"I hope not Jen."

At that moment Jenny hated that she was director of a federal agency who couldn't leave what she was doing to go find her son. For a split second she was jealous of all the stay at home moms who spent their days baking cookies and spent every waking minute fussing over their children. Then she remembered that:

She didn't really like to cook and bake; she was not the domestic type.

She liked having a career.

"Jethro I can't leave, you are going to have to go look for him. I can put another agent on your team to help with the dead marine for now. Please call me as soon as you find him."

Gibbs gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left.

He tried calling Tony's cell phone only to have it go to voice mail. Damn when he gets a hold of him he was going to make sure tony understood the rule "Never be unreachable".

Gibbs wasn't sure where to even start but he figured he would try going home and seeing what if anything tony had taken with him.

Gibbs broke every driving law in the book trying to get home. When he finally made it he took the stairs two at a time to up to Tony's room. He yanked the door open and didn't know whether to be relieved or livid when he was Tony fast asleep in his bed. Unfortunately for Tony he had fallen asleep on his stomach with his butt in the air making it a prime target for one pissed off Gibbs.

Gibbs landed three quick but hard swats to Tony's backside.

Tony quickly rolled over as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes and get his butt out of the way of what was attacking it. When he was awake enough he looked up to see one pissed off father.

"Oh, hi dad" Tony managed in a feeble attempt.

"Oh, hi dad, you had your mother and I worried sick and that is all you have to say for yourself! Anthony I don't know whether to hug you because I am glad you are safe, or put you over my knee and spank the daylights out of you for worrying your mom and me."

"Um how about you go with your first option?"

Gibbs quickly opened his phone and called Jenny. "He is fine Jen. Seems your son cut school and then decided to be unreachable. Yes. No. I promise Jen."

Tony wondered what his mother was saying. She was probably making Gibbs promise to bust his ass for worrying her.

When he finally hung up the phone he sat down on the bed next to Tony. "Why Tony?"

Tony hung his head. "Dad I miss her so much. I just couldn't face school without her. I don't care if you punish me, nothing matters now that she is gone."

"Tony" Gibbs put two fingers under Tony's chin to make him look up. "Listen I know you miss her. But the fact is she is gone. You can't just stop living because she is gone. You can still write to her and someday you may even see her again. She isn't dead. I know it may not seem like it now but it will get better. You have family and friends that love you and have got your back. There are going to be other girls. And yeah you may get your heart broken more times than not, but you have to keep your chin up and know that it is all going to work out."

"Thanks dad. I'm sorry I worried you and mom."

"How about after work tonight you and I work on the boat and if you promise not to tell your mom or Abby, I will tell you about some of the times I got my heart broken."

"Really dad?"

"Yep"

"Um…. Dad? Are you um ….going to punish me….for cutting school?"

Even though a lot of people who knew Gibbs always said the second B stood for bastard, he did have a heart. And he knew how tough this was for Tony. "No Anthony I am not. I wish you would have talked to me or your mom and gotten our permission to stay home today. We both know how hard this is for you, but at the same time you are going to have to go back to school sooner or a later. However if I ever call your cell again and it goes to voice mail, I am going to make you write 500 times "I will not be unreachable when my parents are calling me. Clear?" Gibbs said with a smirk.

"Yes dad. And dad, thanks"

Gibbs wrapped his arm around his son. "I love you Tony."

"Love you too dad."

TBC-next chapter deals with Ziva in Israel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning-this chapter is a little heavy. It contains a few bad words, and a whooping at the hands of Eli David (I don't like him much). No characters were actually killed in the writing of this story. BTW-I do not really like this one-too heavy. I like writing about Abby-she is fun because she always throws caution to the wind and to hell with the consequences.**

From the minute the plane had landed in Israel, Eli had been drilling and training Ziva without letting up. Ziva had hoped that she would have time to see old He pushed her friends.

"Papa please can I go visit Anna and Aslam. I have not seen them since we left for the US.!" Begged Ziva.

Eli was not moved by his daughter's pleas; in fact it only managed to anger him. He leveled a steely gaze at his daughter. "You are mossad; you no longer have times for friends. You will train 24/7 because on this next mission your life depends on your success. Clear!"

"I hate you". Ziva yelled before turning and trying to walk away from Eli David.

Eli grabbed Ziva by her ponytail and dragged her over to his desk. He pushed her down over the desk and began removing his belt from the loops. He held Ziva down with one hand while he used the other to bring his belt down over and over until he felt his daughter would submit to his authority.

Ziva tried hard to remain brave. She bit her lip to keep from crying but finally after about the 30 swat quiet tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Eli David was not like most fathers. He seemed to have a heart of stone even when it came to his kids. The sight of his daughter crying did nothing to sway his mind from the punishment he thought she deserved. He continued to bring the belt down on her backside a good 50 times until he felt he had beaten the stubbornness out of her.

Most fathers after punishing their children would offer a hug or reassurances of their love. Eli David was not like most fathers. When he was done punishing his daughter he released his hand from her back, grabbed her arm and stood her up. "Do you now understand your place in mossad?" he yelled at her.

Ziva had stopped the tears but her eyes were still wet. She looked her father in the eye and said "Yes papa". The words her mouth spoke may have been what her father wanted to hear but the feelings in her heart were one of anger and hatred for all things mossad including her father.

Maliki (one of Eli's mossad officers) is waiting to train you in diffusing bombs. "Go".

The hours of training turned into days and the days into weeks. Ziva was not allowed to attend school. She was not able to see any of her friends. All of her time was spent learning how to kill a man with her bare hands, diffusing bombs, target practice, and survival skills. She was able to send a few text messages to Tony over the weeks.

Gibbs and Jenny were worried about their son. He went to school and came home. He didn't spend a lot of time hanging out with friends anymore. Although he did continue to play on the school basketball team. There was a change in Tony since Ziva left.

Gibbs and Jenny didn't have to worry about Tony not being unreachable. He didn't go anywhere without his phone attached to him. Not for fear of parental reprimand, but fear of missing a text from Ziva. He read text messages from her over and over. He missed her like crazy and hoped and prayed that she would come back.

Then one week the texts stopped. Tony had tried to text Ziva a few times and never got a reply back. As days of no replay turned into a week, Tony began to worry. Gibbs and Jenny tried to make his see a logical side. Maybe Eli had taken her phone away, or maybe she was busy or maybe she had decided to end communication and didn't know how to tell Tony.

While they both tried to offer explanation for her lack of communication, Gibbs had a nagging feeling in his gut. He knew how much Ziva cared for Tony and had a feeling that if she wasn't contacting him it wasn't because she didn't want to, it was because she couldn't.

Without ever voicing their concerns around Tony, Gibbs and Jenny were doing a little digging on their own while at work. Jenny was using her connections to try to find out what mossad missions were being carried out by Director David. Franks and Gibbs were following up any leads that they had.

As the week began turning into two without any word from Ziva, Tony was beginning to become more and more upset. He felt helpless to do anything to protect the girl her loved. He had no idea where she was or what was going on and that feeling made him sick with worry.

It was the first week in March when Jenny had gotten a tip that mossad agents had been sent on a suicide mission to infiltrate Salem's camp. Among the causalities was a young teenage mossad officer who matched Ziva's description.

When Jenny heard the news she actually dropped the phone. Her first thoughts were Oh my god Ziva is dead, how the hell are we going to tell Tony. Once she recovered a little from the shock she called Gibbs and told him to come to her office.

When Gibbs walked in her office he took one look at her face and knew something was very wrong. "Jen…"

Tears began falling from Jenny's eyes. "Jethro she is dead. Ziva is dead".

Gibbs put his arms around his wife in an attempt to comfort her. "How?"

"Her bastard father sent her on a suicide mission to North Africa."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_Be warned-this is kind of a heavy chapter. Not my usual style-nothing fun or fluffy going on in this one._

Gibbs immediately hugged Jenny while she cried on his shoulder. Immediately emotions that he hadn't felt in years had come rushing back. Not many people knew that before Jenny he had been married once before. He was married to a woman named Shannon and they had a daughter Kelly. His first wife and daughter were killed. Gibbs was so pissed and bent on revenge that he tracked down the man who murdered them, Pedro Hernandez, and killed him in cold blood.

At that moment Gibbs felt like he did when he heard about the murder of his family. He wanted revenge on the bastard who killed an innocent teenager. An innocent teenager whose father could have cared less about protecting.

While Jenny continued to cry Gibbs whispered into her hair "Damn Eli David".

"Jethro how are we going to tell Tony?"

While he continued to embrace her in a hug he whispered quietly in her ear. "I don't know Jen. We are going to have to sit him down and tell him the truth and be there to help him cope."

Gibbs and Jenny left NCIS shortly after.

When they arrived at home Tony and Abby were sitting on the couch watching TV.

When Tony and Abby looked up at their parents they knew something was wrong. Jenny had looked like she had been crying and Gibbs looked like he wanted to rip someone's head off with his bare hands.

Jenny spoke first "Your dad and I need to talk to you both for a minute."

Gibbs and Jenny sat down on the coffee table across from Tony and Abby. Abby snuggled closer to her brother for comfort. She wasn't sure what was going on but by the looks of her parents it wasn't good.

Jenny looked at her children and at that moment she hated Mrs. David. How the hell could any mother allow anyone to put their children in danger, why hadn't she stopped Eli?

"There is no easy way to say this". Jen said reaching for her husband's hand for strength. "Your dad and I have been trying to gather information as to Ziva's whereabouts."

For a tiny moment Tony felt hope, hope that maybe she would be coming home soon.

Jen and Gibbs see the moment of hope in Tony's eyes making what they are about to tell him that much harder.

While squeezing her husbands had Jenny looked at her son. "I'm sorry Tony. Ziva is not coming back. She is dead."

To both Tony and Abby it was like time had stopped. Abby's head begins to spin. Tony felt the air leave him and he couldn't catch his breath.

As soon as Abby had a minute to process what her parents were saying she threw herself at her dad and began crying.

Gibbs cradled Abby like he used to when she was little. He gently rocked her while he rubbed her back.

Tony could feel the sting of tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. He balled his hands into fists and began punching the couch while yelling "No, No she can't be dead. I love her. No I refuse to believe it."

Jenny went over and sat down next to her son and pulled him into her while she stroked his hair and kept whispering "I'm sorry honey".

Jenny had tears running down her face at the sight of her son's broken heart.

Even Gibbs heart was breaking for not only his children but for poor Ziva.

They stayed in the living room together for a long time each trying to process and deal with the news.

Finally Abby, exhausted from crying fell asleep in her father's arms. Gibbs used his ex-marine strength to carry his little Abby up the stairs and into her bed. Gibbs sat on the bed next to her and watched her sleep, while he gently smoothed her hair.

While he watched his sweet little girl sleep his heart was filled with such love for his children. He couldn't understand how any parent would willingly put their child in danger. It was probably one of the worst offences a Gibbs child could commit. He hated when his children did anything to endanger themselves, and when they did he made sure they thought twice about it before ever doing the same thing again.

After leaving Abby's room, Gibbs went down to the living room where Tony was still sitting staring blankly into space.

"Come on son let's work on the boat. I want to talk to you."

Tony was about to argue that he didn't feel like working on a boat, but soon he realized he was to emotionally exhausted to put up an argument.

Once in the basement Gibbs poured himself a glass of bourbon. Tony sat in the shell of the boat resting again a beam.

"Tony, I know how you are feeling. I know I don't ever talk about Kelly and Shannon, but I know that you know about them. "

It was true that both Tony and Abby knew about Shannon and Kelly, as did Jen.

"Dad how did you deal with the pain in your heart?"

Gibbs picked up a piece of sandpaper and began to sand the boat. "Believe me Tony it wasn't easy. I wanted to die after I lost them. I felt like I had nothing. They were my world and they were gone. But I forced myself to deal with the pain and loss and in time I began to heal. I met your mom and fell in love again. Believe me I never thought I would be able to love anyone after Shannon. But when I met Jenny she made me feel alive again. Then after we were married I was given the greatest gift of a son and later another daughter. I was given a second chance at being a father again. I love Kelly and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her, but because of her I treasure every second I have with you and Abby. You and Abby mean more to me than anything and because I have experienced the loss of one child, that makes the two of you even that much more precious."

Tony had never really thought about how his dad felt when his first family was murdered. Now he had the utmost respect for him. As hard as this was Tony could take comfort in the fact that he had a mom, dad and sister who loved him and were there for him. When his dad lost Shannon and Kelly, he had no one; he was alone in the world.

"Dad it hurts so much. It feels like nothing is ever going to be the same again."

Gibbs stopped sanding and looked at his son. "It will take time Anthony. It isn't going to get better overnight, but in time it will stop hurting as much. You will always remember her and you won't forget her, but in time you can remember the good times with her while still living your life. Do you think Ziva would want you to be sad all the time, or would she want you to hold on to the happy memories and keep living your life?"

Quiet tears began to fall down Tony's cheeks. "This just sucks so much. I want it to all be a dream."

Gibbs sat next to his son and put his arm around him. "I know son, I know."

The next few weeks in the Gibbs house were somber to say the least.

Tony and Abby had stayed home from school the day following the news. No one had gotten much sleep and although there would be no formal funeral or burial, they all needed some time to mourn Ziva's death.

Tony was miserable. He went to school and came home and stayed in his room. It drove him nuts at school when he would hear people complain about petty things. His entire world was shattered and the guys were worrying about who they were taking to the party on the weekend.

Abby cried at least once a day for Ziva. She was not her usually bubbly self. When she came home from school she would go into Tony's room and curl up next to him for hours.

Jenny was trying to stay strong and run NCIS.

Gibbs was still out for blood. He knew her father wouldn't seek revenge on the scum that had killed his daughter, hell her father was the reason she was dead. Gibbs decided he couldn't live without seeking justice for Ziva. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

TBC-


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a stressful few days since the news of Ziva's death hit.

There had been tension between Jen and Gibbs at both home and work. The kids weren't sure what their parents were fighting about but they knew something wasn't right. They could hear bits and pieces while their parents were fighting in their room.

Jen's face was red with anger. "Damn it Jethro! Your intentions are noble but what is the point. You are going to do what…. Fly half way around the world, and risk your life to kill the person who killed Ziva?"

Gibbs knew he wasn't going to win this argument with Jen, but as a father who had already lost one daughter he couldn't let Ziva's death go unpunished. If her father wouldn't fight for her, he was going to be the one to do it.

Jen had stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Gibbs had begun packing the few things he would need to take to North Africa.

The next morning at breakfast Gibbs looked at Tony and Abby. "Listen you two. I need to go on an undercover op and I will be gone for a while."

Jen snorted and mumbled under her breath.

Gibbs just glared at her but he continued. "I need you two to help your mom until I get back. Be on your best behavior."

He stood up and pulled both kids to him at the same time. "I love you two with all my heart".

Tony and Abby both hugged their dad and left for school.

When Jen and Gibbs were alone Jen wrapped her arms around her husband. "Although I don't agree with you going I love you. Be safe and come back to us soon."

Gibbs pulled her into one last hug. "I love you too Jen. I'll be back. I promise".

Meanwhile while Gibbs was boarding a plane for North Africa, Jen was a nervous wreck. She found herself being short tempered especially since she had no contact with her husband for the next few days.

She had no way of knowing what was happening and that drove her crazy.

Meanwhile at the Gibbs household things were a little tense. Jen and Abby were at each other a lot. Their newest argument happened the day after Gibbs had left.

"Mom I want to go hiking around the marsh with Hanna after school" whined Abby

"I said NO, I meant No, now that is the end of it Abigail. I forbid it"

The two had left still angry with each other.

Later the same day Tony's phone rang in his pocket. He had given up hope that Ziva's would somehow still be alive and on the other end.

"Yeah Abbs"

Abby nervously chewed her lip. She was in a heap of trouble and Tony was the only one she could think of to get her out. Gibbs had left on a secret mission with his team after a lot of fighting with Jenny. No way in hell was Abby calling her mother for help. Ever since her dad left her mom had been in a foul mood. This left Tony as Abby's only hope.

"Um Tony….. I kind of have a little problem and I need you to come get me."

Oh Lord Tony thought to himself. Wonder what the little rug rat has gotten herself into now.

"Where are ya Abbs and what happened?"

"Well… remember this morning over breakfast when I asked mom if I could go hiking in the marsh with my friend Hanna after school and she got all pissy and forbid it?"

"Yeah…"

"Yeah well I kind of went anyway"

Tony rolled his eyes, leave it to Abby. "So Abbs where are you exactly and you know mom is gonna kill you if she finds out."

"Well she isn't going to find out for one thing, and second… well the trail was underwater about half way around the marsh so we tried to detour around it and we would up on the other side of town and it is starting to get dark."

Tony could hear the panic rising in Abby's voice. "Ok relax, I am on my way. Give me the address of where you are."

Abby quickly looked at the nearest street sign and gave the name to Tony. Then she and Hanna waited for Tony to arrive to rescue them.

"Abby you are so lucky you have a big brother who will rescue us. All I have is a stupid little brother."

"Yeah tony is cool"

After 20 minutes Tony arrived to pick up his sister and her friend. Tony dropped Hanna off and he and Abby went home.

Jen was already home and in the study going over some paper work, trying not to worry about her husband half way around the world risking his life to avenge Ziva's death.

Abby was trying to go upstairs quickly without her mother seeing the mud all over her pants from the marsh. Luck was not on Abby's side. Jen had felt a little bad about the fight she had had with Abby that morning. She was worried and found herself snapping at the kids, her agents at work, hell she had even snapped at the dry cleaner today. She wanted her husband home safe and she wanted him home now.

"Abby honey I just wanted to say I am sorry for overreacting and snapping at you this morning."

Abby was trying to hide the bottom of her tan pants from her mother. "It's okay mom. Gotta go change, bye."

Jen knew in her gut that her daughter was hiding something. "Not so fast Abigail. Come here please."

Abby slowly walked into the room making sure to stay on the other side of her mom's desk, out of reach.

Jen narrowed her eyes at Abby who looked like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Why are your pants muddy and it would be in your best interest not to lie?"

Abby could feel her temper rise. All good sense left Abby for a minute when in her teenage outrage she yelled "I went to the marsh, okay happy now, geez, is it a crime."

She had no idea why she did it and had her father been around she never would have dared to talk to her mom like that. But after all the woman was making a federal case out of nothing.

Before Abby could move, Jen was up out of her chair and had advanced around the desk towards her daughter. She grabbed Abby's upper arm in one hand and used her free hand to swat Abby's backside.

SWAT why SWAT does SWAT everyone SWAT in SWAT this SWAT damn SWAT house SWAT think SWAT they can do as they please SWAT SWAT SWAT

Jen had stopped swatting but still had a grip on Abby's arm. Abby was wiping the tears with one hand while trying to rub her butt with the other.

"Your father goes half way around the world even after as director and wife I forbid him to and now my daughter does as she pleases and then gets sassy. What the hell is going on lately?"

Abby had stopped wiping her face and was using both hands to rub the sting out of her backside. She looked up at her mother and said "You're mean. I want my dad." And with that she ran upstairs, both hands still rubbing her butt with black pigtails swinging as she ran.

Jen slumped on the sofa and began crying while whispering "I want my husband back and safe". After a few minutes of crying Jen pulled herself together and had a flash back to when Abby was 3.

_Jen could remember it like it was yesterday. Abby had her black hair in 2 pigtails. Abby had picked her own clothes out that morning and although it looked like a color blind clown had dressed her, Jen decided that was a fight not worth fighting. So Abby had gone shopping with red tights, black sneakers, a purple tutu, and a white shirt with Strawberry Shortcake on it. They had gotten lots of strange looks, a few smiles, and a few knowing nods from other parents whose kids had dressed themselves at one time or another._

_Everything had gone smoothly. Abby had been such a good girl that Jen had even treated her to an ice cream cone in the mall. They were on their way out of the mall when Abby spotted the toy store. Jen had already told her they were not going to buy a toy that day but maybe a different day. Abby sat down outside the toy store and began throwing a tantrum as only a 3 year old can. Jen tried to reason with her but soon realized that wasn't going to work, so she did the next best thing. She picked Abby up, flipped her over her shoulder and carried her crying daughter out the door to the parking lot. Jen had put Abby down next to the car so she could unlock the door. As soon as Abby's feet hit the ground she took off running through the parking lot towards the mall. Jen dropped her purse and keys and took off after her daughter. Jen was able to grab Abby before any harm came to her. At first Jen had been so relieved that Abby wasn't hit by a car or hurt, she scooped her daughter up in her arms and hugged her._

_By the time Jen had carried her daughter to the car the relief was replaced by anger at her daughters' willful behavior. When they got to the car Jen climbed into the back of the minivan, put Abby over her knee, flipped up her purple tutu and began swatting Abby's backside. _

_Abby was shocked; she had never been spanked before. Sure she had gotten a swat and she had seen Tony get spanked, but she herself had never been spanked. _

_After Jen had given her bottom 5 hard spanks she lifted her daughter up and began to tell her how dangerous her behavior was._

_Abby had tears running down her face. She looked at her mother and said "You're mean. I want my daddy"._

Jen began to cry again. "Damn it Jethro I need you home. You had better stay safe." She whispered to herself.

She loved her husband. He always had her six, not only in the field, at work, but also at home.

Jen dried her tears as she silently remembered what happened when they had gotten home from the mall that day all those years ago.

_As soon as she pulled into the garage and stopped the car Abby was unbuckling herself from her car seat and had taken off out of the car. She walked into the kitchen to find her daddy reading the paper drinking coffee. She threw herself on his lap while she snuggled into his neck._

"_I love you daddy. Mommy is mean and I don't like her anymore"._

_By this point Jen had arrived into the kitchen but stood back in the doorway to see how this would play out between father and daughter._

_Gibbs plucked Abby off his lap and stood her in front of him. She looked at his daughter and noticed her tear streaked faced. "I think you had better tell me what happened"._

"_Mommy wouldn't let me go to the toy store, so I sitted down and cried. Then she pickeded me up and carried me to the car, only when she putted my feets down I tried to run to the store"._

_Gibbs groaned to himself picturing Abby having a tantrum in the mall and then running in the parking lot._

"_Then mommy gotted me and hugged me. Then when we got to the car she got in the back and do you know what she did then?" Abby asked with her big green eyes nearly popping out of her head._

_Gibbs continued to glare at his daughter. "No what did mommy do then?"_

"_She spanked me!" yelled Abby waiting for her daddy to get mad at what her mommy had done. Boy was she ever surprised by his reaction._

_Gibbs put his hand under Abby's chin forcing her to look in his face. "Good. You were naughty and you deserved a spanking. And if you ever say mean things about your mommy or behave the way you did today, I don't care if your mommy already spanked you, when you get home I will spank you again myself. Clear?"_

_Abby's mouth hung open in shock. Not only did her daddy not get mad at mommy, he got mad at her._

_With that Gibbs reached around and gave Abby 2 hard swats to her purple clad tutu backside and ordered her to "Apologize to your mother, NOW"._

_A subdued Abby ran to her mom and hugged her. "I'm sorry mommy"._

_Jenny picked Abby up and kissed her little nose. "I love you too Abbs"_

Meanwhile in North Africa, Franks and team were stepping off a plane. Gibbs in his desert camo went to find a location to hide with his sniper rifle.

Franks and Stan burley were carrying out their part of the plan which was to get captured and stay alive until Gibbs could take out Saleem.


End file.
